My Wife and I just got back from a 7 Day Bermuda Cruise, we have done this cruise with NCL about two years ago on the Star. Let me first say that I am a fan on the concept that NCL has been so successful at. I like the Freestyle concept and the more relaxed atmosphere but I do have a few comments that I will share about that later. The first thing you need to know about this ship is that it is big and was harder to get to where you want to be because of the size. The dining is not that fancy if you choose to eat at the Manhattan and it is VERY noisy because they sometimes have a band playing and the noise of the music and the additional noise of the guest trying to talk over the music makes for a difficult conversation with your dinner guest. The Savor and Taste were much better choices for dinner because you could actually talk. We dined mostly at the specialty restaurants and found them to be wonderful, quiet and with one exception, worth the money. The exception was Ocean Blue which was the most expensive and had the worst selection for upper class seafood, most people we talked with were not happy with Ocean Blue.

Now for why I rated this ship Average.... When I go on a Cruise, I want the entertainment to be something I can look forward to each night, as in something different each night. In past NCL cruises we have been entertained by a Comedian, a Singer, an act of some kind or the nightly show by the entertainers. We had a show called Burn the Floor which was a gymnastic version of various types of dances with loud drums. I found it almost non artistic when they did various dances (cha-cha) ect... because it was more like a violent gymnastic meet with loud pounding drums. The other was a version of the Broadway Rock of Ages which was not appropriate for Children or Teens, why do we feel that we have to push the edge of raunch to be entertaining? This should have been for everyone given that it was the main entertainment. You had to find entertainment out in the bars and clubs the other nights, it was my opinion that NCL is moving to smaller entertainment in the clubs so that you will order more drinks. One BIG (HUGE) dissapointment was the Main Theater, I can only describe it as like your local movie house theater, I am not embellishing when I describe it that way. I find one of the things that I love about other cruise ships is the elaborate theater with the double deckers, this ships theater really is an after thought and a big disappointment, it really reinforces to me that this ship is trying to move you out to the clubs and bars to spend more money. The other let down is the grand entrance for a ship of this size I thought would be amazing but again it is quite a let down and very small so as to accommodate more rooms I feel. All in all, we had a nice time but I will be looking for smaller ships in the future that follow the entertainment that I like. I do hope that NCL realizes that they do not have to be so raunchy with the Main entertainment so that the whole family can attend.